Through 33 interviews with as many masters of American fantastic cinema, American Nightmares traces the evolution of one of the most thrilling and creatively stimulating periods in the history of horror cinema: the New American Horror (mid-1960s to late 1980s). The book compares the artistic, social, and political perspectives of those who, whether consciously or unconsciously, for over thirty years have narrated, criticized, and depicted the changes taking place in American society through fantastic cinema.
The interviews are all unpublished, conducted in person by the author between 2003 and 2013, and presented in full in English for the first time. Here are the PROTAGONISTS:
Richard Matheson (Writer, Screenwriter: I am Legend)
Roger Corman (Director, Screenwriter, Producer: Tales of Terror)
Jack Hill (Director, Screenwriter: Spider Baby)
Herschell Gordon Lewis (Director, Producer, Screenwriter 2000 Maniacs)
George A. Romero (Director, Screenwriter: Night of the Livig Dead)
Sean Cunningham (Director, Screenwriter, Producer: Friday te 13th)
Bob Clark (Director, Screenwriter: Deathdream)
Tobe Hooper (Director, Screenwriter: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
Larry Cohen (Director, Screenwriter: It's Alive)
William Friedkin (Director, Screenwriter: The Exorcist)
John Carpenter (Director, Screenwriter, Composer: Halloween)
David Cronenberg (Director, Screenwriter: Rabid )
Don Coscarelli (Director, Screenwriter: Phantasm)
Meir Zarchi (Director, Screenwriter: I spit on your Grave)
Richard Donner (Director, Screenwriter: The Omen)
Joe Dante (Director, Screenwriter: Gremlins)
John Sayles (Director, Screenwriter: The Howling)
John Landis (Director, Screenwriter: An American Werewolf in London)
Jeff Lieberman (Director, Screenwriter: Squirm)
John Boorman (Director, Screenwriter: Deliverance)
Bill Lustig (Director, Screenwriter: Maniac)
Frank Henenlotter (Director, Screenwriter: Basket Case)
Dan O'Bannon (Director, Screenwriter: Return of the Living Dead)
Brian Yuzna (Director, Screenwriter: Society)
Stuart Gordon (Director, Screenwriter: Re-Animator)
Dennis Paoli (Screenwritere: Re-Animator)
Lloyd Kaufman (Director, Screenwriter, Producer: The Toxic Avenger)
Tom Holland (Director, Screenwriter: Fright Night)
Fred Dekker (Director, Screenwriter: Night of the Creeps)
Ethan Wiley (Director, Screenwriter: House)
The Chiodo Brothers (Directors, Screenwriters, Producers, FX creators: Killer Klowns from Outer Space)
Clive Barker (Director, Screenwriter, Writer: Hellraiser)
Mick Garris (Director, Screenwriter, Producer: Masters of Horror)
